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"Bokue… and—why is she here too?!"
Inside the not-so-spacious office, Asagi Aiba's voice cracked like thunder as she stared at the black-haired girl currently nestled in Bokue's arms.
Sure, the whole "Hero rescuing a damsel" routine might've been overused in movies and gas—but it's popular because it works. Everyone loves it.
Except Bokue had to be different.
He ca to play hero, alright… but the guy brought a bonus damsel with him...
Just what the hell is this supposed to be?
"Well, um…"
Noticing the deepening storm clouds on Asagi's expression, the short-haired girl—having mostly recovered from the "trip"—carefully slipped out of Bokue's arms and began explaining.
"You see, it's like this. Just like Yukina, Bokue is assigned to supervise . Since Yukina-chan wasn't around today, Bokue had to fill in. Then the explosion happened, and Bokue wanted to rush over right away, but… well, he didn't want to leave behind alone, so he just brought along."
That… actually made a surprising amount of sense.
Asagi's eyes flicked down, taking silent note of the sweat still glistening around the girl's neck and collarbone.
"…If you two teleported over, then why does she look like she just ran a marathon?"
"That's because…"
Nagisa paused for just a second, subtly glancing up at Bokue with a look that clearly said: Please go along with this.
She cleared her throat, putting on a smile.
"Well, earlier this afternoon I suddenly felt like shopping for new clothes. So I dragged Bokue out with . But the weather was super hot, and by the ti we got back ho and were about to shower… that's when we heard what happened at Keystone Gate."
Shopping together, huh…
Asagi's eye twitched.
She'd been here the entire afternoon, grinding through work with both hands flying across a keyboard—while these two were out doing a damn couple's date.
"So, what did happen? I felt the shockwave even from Nagisa's place."
Bokue cut in, steering the conversation back on track.
Asagi blinked—montarily thrown off—but quickly snapped out of it, spinning around to her screen and starting to type.
"Here, I'll pull up the surveillance footage. Way easier to show than explain… like you'll see, soone's infiltrated Keystone Gate. And from the looks of it, they can control Familiar-class beasts or sothing…"
"W-Wait! That's them! We saw them just last night!"
As the screen played, Nagisa gasped and pointed. The video feed showed a golden-haired warrior slicing through guards like paper, while a blue-haired girl summoned massive spectral limbs.
"It's those two! From the industrial park! The ones who were there during the explosion!"
They hadn't fought back then, but the impression the two left had been etched clearly in her mind.
"So that's who they were…"
Asagi finally placed the nagging familiarity that had been bugging her since she saw the footage.
"But what are they even after in here?"
"Who knows? Let's find out. We can't exactly let them run loose down here." Without wasting another second, Bokue strode over and opened the office door.
The hallway beyond glowed red from spinning ergency lights, and the shrill sound of alarms grew even louder now that the soundproofing barrier was gone.
Bokue turned back, glancing at Asagi.
"You want to teleport you out first? If their target's inside the Gate, sending you ho should keep you safe."
"…Do I look like I'm your little sister or sothing?" Asagi snorted and pulled a keycard from her pocket.
"This is the underwater part of Keystone Gate. The scale down here makes the comrcial floors upstairs look like a bathroom stall. Each floor below the ocean is like… two kiloters wide, give or take. There's no way they're even in the sa section as ."
"Besides, you think you can get through the dozens of security checkpoints without my keycard and facial ID?"
"…Smash them?" Bokue raised a fist matter-of-factly.
Asagi rolled her eyes.
"Wow, congratulations. You're exactly like the intruders we're dealing with. And in case you forgot—this whole place is under surveillance. If Island Managent bills you for damages, I'm not helping."
"Plus, let's face it—you don't know your way around. You need to guide you."
…Yeah. That made too much sense to argue with.
Bokue shrugged.
"Alright, fair enough. Let's move."
❁❁❁❁
As expected, Keystone Gate's undersea sector was a full-on maze.
Though Asagi technically led the way, it was really the tablet in her hands doing the navigation.
The three of them advanced through a series of red-lit corridors, sirens blaring above their heads. Asagi walked at the front, tablet in hand, scanning the display with furrowed brows.
"Let's see… The epicenter of the attack—yeah, it should be just ahead. Left at the next corner… ah! Here it is!"
With a beep, her card and facial ID triggered the lock, and the thick security door slowly retracted into the ceiling.
The mont the barrier lifted, the corridor ahead hit them with a suffocating wave of hot, tallic blood.
No screen could've prepared them for the sight in person.
The passage was a warzone.
Bodies of guards littered the floor, shredded and dismbered. Blood pooled in streaks. Pieces of the wall—torn loose by so kind of brutal impact—lay crushed and soaked on the floor.
"…It's a massacre." Nagisa's eyes widened as she covered her mouth.
Even Asagi, who had already seen this through the monitors, still clenched her fists at the carnage up close.
Bokue just sighed internally.
A second later, he stepped forward and tapped the ground lightly with his toe.
In an instant, golden light flared outward from that point—waves of energy pulsing across the corridor.
[Magnetic Field Rotation]
[Cellular Regeneration]
It was like watching a high-level Mass Heal spell from an MMO—only cranked up to divine-tier.
Golden light blanketed the bodies of the downed guards, and slowly, impossibly, they began to move. Shaking. Sitting up. Blinking in disbelief.
Their wounds were gone.
They looked… completely healed.
"That's… incredible." Nagisa stared, stunned. "But… doesn't that kind of spell take a huge toll on you?"
"Hardly costs anything. Don't worry." Bokue's tone was casual—like he'd just watered a plant.
"So what's down here that's important enough for those two to break in like this?"
"Hold on, checking now—looks like they're headed for the lowest level of Keystone Gate. That floor is supposed to contain…" Asagi's voice trailed off as she tapped rapidly on the tablet, eyes scanning the screen.
"Wait. It's encrypted. Gim a sec. I'll crack it…"
"…Got it!"
She froze.
Bokue leaned over to glance at her screen.
Displayed clearly on the tablet—
—a photo of a severed white arm.
[The Right Arm of the Saint]
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